Odeon Bethnal Green

172 Cambridge Heath Road,
London, E2 9LJ

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: D.J. James Circuit, Eastern Cinemas (GCF), Odeon Theatres Ltd., Rank Organisation

Architects: Leslie H. Kemp

Firms: Andrews & Peascod

Previous Names: Museum Cinema

Nearby Theaters

Odeon Bethnal Green

Located in the east London district of Bethnal Green, on the main Cambridge Heath Road, behind the York Hall and swimming baths. It was close to the Bethnal Green Museum (today known as the ‘Museum of Childhood’). The Museum Cinema opened just after Christmas in December 1912. It originally had a seating capacity of 500 on a single floor. The auditorium ran parallel to the main Cambridge Heath Road with the entrance at the northern end of the building.

It was closed in June 1931 for internal re-construction to the plans of architect Leslie H. Kemp and the seating capacity increased to 820. It now had a proscenium opening that was 30 feet wide and it re-opened on 12th October 1931. It was taken over by the independent Eastern Cinemas (GCF) from 1936, soon passing to the D.J. James Circuit. From 28th February 1943 it was taken over by Oscar Deutsch’s Odeon Theatres Ltd. chain.

It was re-named Odeon Bethnal Green from 20th March 1950. It was an early closure due to the impact of television and had never been equipped with CinemaScope. The Odeon closed on 1st December 1956 with Michael Craig in “House of Secrets” and Jock Mahoney in “I’ve Lived Before”.

The building was demolished and a block of flats, Mayfield House, was built on the site.

Contributed by KenRoe

Recent comments (view all 2 comments)

Rogere
Rogere on January 1, 2010 at 9:24 pm

You say it was not equipped for CinemaScope but I saw ‘To Catch a Thief’ here and that was in VistaVision.

execelsior
execelsior on September 4, 2023 at 9:25 am

When I knew this cinema, it was a dismal. It was a cinema to avoid. The only good film that I saw there was ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’.

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